Budgeting 101

Budgeting in New York

It’s a Sunday rainy evening and I’m sitting in my living room (work office) analyzing what I did for the weekend. Not a whole lot, but I did manage to help a friend get a handle of his finances and plan one of the most important days of his life.

Let’s talk about living in NYC, expensive as shit in the year 2018. Rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in most boroughs besides Manhattan, (Manhattan is outrageous so we won”t even go there) is at least $1,600-$1,800 a month in a decent neighborhood. We’re not even talking about everything else that comes with an apartment yet. Budgeting, how do we do it living in an expensive city like New York and try to plan for the future?

My friend, I’ll name him Z for these purposes lives on a 6 figure salary. 6 Figures! After the state of NY rapes him for taxes, he actually sees 60% of that salary. Because we all know the government has to get theirs right? But that’s not what this blog is about. Anyhow, so his salary after taxes and a few deductions (health, 401k etc.) monthly is roughly $4300.

How do you live off of this and save when you have a whole lot to pay? To start, you have to make yourself a budget.

Let’s get to the numbers:

Income: $4300

Car Payment: $440

Car Insurance: $245

Student Loan Payment: $400

Cell Phone: $120

Cable/Internet: $182

Electricity: $70 When’s it’s not the summer in NY, because realistically that bill will be 3 times this.

Netflix: $15 You will need Netflix, because let’s face it you will need to be at home most of the time.

Spotify: $10

Food: $500

Rent: $800 (splitting with partner)

EZ Pass: $80

Credit Cards: $500

Savings for something special: $500

Car Gas: $150

Total Expenses: $4012

Amount Left: $288

So now you have less than $300 for 4 weeks of your month, to do whatever you want with it. You can go out and drink, take your girl out watch a movie or maybe get a beer with your buddy. Don’t spend it all on that one night, split it up to maybe 2 nights for the month so you’re not stuck watching Netflix the rest of the month. This is how we tackled his budget, and in no time he will have savings for something special while he continues to work on his debt and responsibilites.

If you have debt, you technically don’t have savings. In order for you to actually save is to get rid of your debt asap. It may take a little while to get out of debt with some sacrifices. Good thing we have a winter in NY, time for hibernation and saving!

Another idea, move out of NY and to somewhere where cost of living is a lot less and much more comfortable.

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on how you budget and save!